Improvement in railway cattle-guards



T. D. KLINE.

Railway Cattle-Guards. N0, 141,566, I Patented AugustJSSv.

.\` El y El y UNITEn STATES l PATENT OFFICE.

THEODORE D. KLINE, OF OPELIKA, ALABAMA.

IMPROVEMENT IN RAlLWAV CATTLE-GUARDS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 141,566, dated August 5, 1873; application filed June 28, 1873.

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, THEODORE D. KLINE, of Opelika, in the county of Lee and State of Alabama, have invented a new and valuable Improvement in Stock-Guards for Railroads; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe constructionl and operation of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings making a part of this specification and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

Figure l of the drawings is a representation of my stock-guard by a longitudinal section. Fig. 2 is a top view of the same.

My invention relates to railroad stock or cattle guards; and it consists of a frame with parallel inclined boards placed between and at both sides of the railroad track, whereby cattle are prevented from passing on or along the railroad track.

In the drawings, A represents a sleeper of a railroad, and B a rail. Between two rails, B, on top of the sleepers A, two longitudinal bars, C, are placed, near enough t0 the rails to allow free passagel to the iianges of the railroad cars. lBetween the bars or planks C a number of inclined boards, D and D', are fastened in such manner' that they incline downward from both ends toward the center, where there is a single vertical board, d. The said boards are set parallel to each other at each side of the center, and they are fastened v at such distance from each other that a cows or horses foot will easily slip between them.

.The boards D D project some distance above the tops of the rails, which induces the cattleV to avoid the rails and prefer to walk on the boards D D.

As the edges of the said boards do not afford any foothold, the cows foot slips down between the boards to the ground below. As soon as the cow advances to put down the next foot she finds the other foot jammed by the change of her position and the consequent change of inclination ofthe leg, which does not correspond with the inclination of the boards. She will turn to one side to free herself,and in doing so gets the leg in a favorable position to accomplish the object. tempt at getting over the guard ends with a failure, and the cow will finally keep away from the guard.

What I claim as new, and by Letters Patent, is-

vThe cattle-guard, consisting of the longitudinal beams U and the stationary horizontal parallel inclined boards D D transverselyarranged thereon in such a manner that they ineline downward from both ends toward the center, substantially as specified.

` In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

THEODORE DAVID KLIN'E.

desire to secure Witnesses:

T. M. GARDNER, f J. A. C. PARKER.

Every repeated at- 

